In designer-obsessed Hong Kong, keeping up appearances can be hard on the pocketbook. One company has an answer: cash-strapped shoppers can get money quickly by pawning their Gucci, Chanel, Hermès or Louis Vuitton luxury handbags.

Yes Lady Finance, a mortgage brokerage, offers loans within half an hour of up to 50 percent of the new bag's value, giving customers four months to repay at an interest rate of 4 percent.

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